How can you prepare Moroccan Khlii at home and how can you use it ?

Eid al adha, also known as the “feast of sacrifice” , since it is a famous occasion and the most important holiday and celebration among Muslims. This religious holiday is celebrated by Muslims once a year all over the world in an atmosphere of pleasure, joy and happiness, and it is a tribute to the story of Ibrahim (AS) who saw in his sleep that he massacred his son Ismail. Ismail accepted without hesitation to be sacrificed, after all they can’t go against the will of god, and until the last moment, God ordered him to sacrifice a sheep instead of his son, because all of this was only a test of Abraham\’s loyalty to Almighty God.

These celebrations begin ten days before Eid, just take a slight tour of the alleys, streets and neighborhoods in Morocco or other Muslim countries, or go to the market , you will notice a whole different atmosphere and will automatically know that, soon eid al adha and Muslims will be celebrating it. You will find people who buy charcoal, barbecues, spices, fruits and vegetables … and only a few days later you will begin to hear even the sheep’s sounds in the houses near you and even see people on the street who carry sheeps. You\’re going to see sheep everywhere during this time, and that is not an exaggeration.

The less day you have until eid al adha, the more you will find people preparing everything they will need to welcome it properly. And who says preparation says kitchen and Moroccan cakes and sweets.

Morocco is a country known for its cuisine and the variety of its dishes, so you don’t doubt that we will miss this occasion and let it slide by without us making and preparing Oriental cakes.

You will probably find Moroccan sweets everywhere you go and, in every house, you enter, on the table of each family. Many recipes and delicious and traditional dishes as well as modern, depend on a key element and ingredient which is the sheep, some like : meat feet with chickpeas and al-Qadid ( dried meat, Maruzia, which is a dish based on neck meet or sheep’s leg, kebab and kurdas based tripes and the khlii, which is the main ingredient of this article.

Khlii is a dish belonging to the Maghreb culture, which is found mainly in Morocco and Algeria, which is always composed of meat, usually lamb and fat, and the fat can be compensated with olive oil.

Khlii was discovered during a period when refrigerators did not exist, so it was produced in order to keep meat fresh.

You can conserve it for a very long time and can consume it without hesitation.

A quick and tasty recipe using Khlii :

Khlii is an ingredient that you can incorporate into several recipes. Such as “Bid et khlii” which means fried eggs and Khlii Tajine. It’s a recipe you can make in just 5 minutes and it\’s a real delight.

In order to make it, cut small pieces of khlii (take the amount that suits you, there is no exact rule) . Then put them in a tagine and – heat it over a low heat , so that the oil in the khlii melts (if you find that the amount of oil and fat are exceeding you can adjust it and reduce them using a spoon. After that add eggs and cover the tajine and let it cook for a period of 5 or 7 minutes and your tagine is ready to be served .

If you like cummin add a pinch of it or add paprika. In general, you can add and use any spice you like.

Here is now a detailed method and recipe to prepare the Khlii :

First of all, the ingredients:

5 kg lamb (other types of meat can also be used)
250 g of salt
125 g garlic
75 g of cummin
75 g dried coriander
4 kilos of dried meat, khlii.
1 liter of water
4 liters of kidney fat, dissolved and filtered
1/2 L of oil (preferably sunflower oil)
A little bit of olive oil
1/2-gram garlic, coriande and cummin

Steps to follow (preparation):

Cut the meat into thick slices (preferably 1.5 cm to 2 cm thick)

2- Crush garlic with salt, coriander and cumin until they turn into a homogeneous mixture.

3- Mix the meat with the previously prepared mixture leave it in the refrigerator for at least two full days, stirring from time to time and removing excess water.

4- Dry the steaks in the sun for two to three days, removing them at night.

5- Dried meat is stored in a bag away from light.

This dried meat will be the main ingredient of the khlii recipe:

Here are the preparation steps to follow.

Wash the dried steaks with water and place them in a concave jar

2- Add melted kidney fat, oils, water, coriander, cumin and garlic.

3- Cook the meat without covering it over very low heat, stirring until it dries, then turn off the heat.

4- Then open the bowl with a clean cloth and leave it overnight, open.

5- The next day morning , put the pot itself on low heat in the same way , without covering it for two hours , stirring (preferably with the help of a wooden spoon).cover the pot with a towel and let it cool all the time . Repeat the same operation the next morning.

6- At the end of cooking, dip a cotton fuse at the bottom of the pan and light it, and it should not have a large flame : a sign that the meat no longer contains water or moisture.

7- Finally , place the meat in jars and cover it completely with cooking fat. Keep away from light and moisture.

How do you find this ingredient? Have you ever used it in your recipes or tasted it?

Share with us your experience with khlii as well as Khlii recipes if you know any .